Casablanca is in Morocco, North Africa, and resembles this street scene in neighboring Tangier

"Casablanca" Premiered and the Allies Landed Expeditionary Forces in North Africa
November 26, 1942
"This looks like the beginning of a beautiful friendship," says hero Rick Blaine at the end of the movie classic "Casablanca." Do you know any other lines from this famous film? New Yorkers watched the motion picture for the first time on November 26, 1942. At the same time, the Allied Expeditionary Forces (AEF) of World War II landed in North Africa, the real Casablanca's locale, to take over the area that had been occupied by the Germans. Casablanca, Morocco's chief port city, was the setting of both the film and, later, of a major conference of the Allied leadership. Consequently, "Casablanca" the movie ended up playing a much more meaningful role than just being a hit at the box office.